Charles Stanley Direct to launch trading app

Direct-to-consumer platform Charles Stanley Direct is launching a system which will allow investors to trade via its investment news application.

The news service app, which launched last week, offers company and market news, commentary, analysis and fund updates. It is available to new and existing customers via iPhones and Apple Watches.

Charles Stanley Direct is planning to add several new features in the coming months, including trading capability and the inclusion of client account balances.

Managing director Magnus Wheatley says: “Our in-house team is developing the app to include account balance summaries and trading capabilities and we’ll deliver that relatively quickly.

“We already offer Sipps and Isas so there is no reason we can’t deliver that on the app as well.”

Over 60 per cent of Charles Stanley Direct mobile clients access the platform through Apple devices.

Wheatley says: “The phone and watch apps are an additional service for our D2C clients. This is our first foray into this kind of technology, which has huge ramifications and potential for the wealth management industry.”

Hargreaves Lansdown launched its trading app for iPhone and Android in 2011.

AJ Bell also launched a mobile dealing service called Sippdeal in 2013 while Beaufort Securities launched a similar service in April 2014.